The main problem with bringing in foreign teachers, as I see it, is the aims of the Taiwanese Schools English Education Program. The importance placed on things like translation and memorization of vocabulary at the expense of fluency must be addressed if progress is to actually be made. It seems to me that this plan is designed to fail simply to preserve the status quo in the long run.

It seems to me that this plan is designed to fail simply to preserve the status quo in the long run.

I think it goes beyond just preserving the status quo. Bringing in foreign, professional ESL teachers and having them teach English, using the methods prescribed by the Ministry of Education, endorses the current system. The strongest resistance to education reform is coming directly from the Ministry of Education. Their motivations are obvious from the brand new Mercedes Benz they drive and their mansions in which many of these Education officials live. Not to mention their fat bank accounts.

still and again, i would love to have the opportunity to participate in this exciting new program. my attempts to apply to the MOE have gone unanswered. they didn't even bother to send me a rejections slip. i have a legit BA, can speak chinese, have a pulse, want to find out more...is taiwan really so inept as to not even look "in house" for qualified candidates?

I think they have looked in house and that is why they don't return any calls or reply to inquiries. The vast majority of inexperienced teachers hired from abroad for this program, will not have the quanxi or knowledge required to guarantee job security. They also will not know how to insulate themselves and avoid the unpaid terminations and forced deportations/blacklisting that this program is going to generate.
What it comes down to is the profit margin. By hiring abroad, Ministry of Education officials and public school administrators can optimize the amount of graft and kickbacks they will receive. This program has the potential of wiping out the bushi ban business in Taiwan and giving the local government a monopoly on the sale of ESL/EFL classes and materials.

I can't see it really affecting the buxibans as they have enough problems as there are. I see anqingbans and kindergartens doing great, except for the large amount of competition and the economic malaise affecting Taiwan.

I would love to see a paper on their "recruitment" efforts or lack there of. I think they were looking for foreign born Chinese(FBC) and couldn't find enough. Here's why: they can conveniently play the Chinese culture card on FBC's. Along with a couple token honkeys and you have a very easily manipulated workforce. Am I cynical, yes; am I wrong, probably not.

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This program has the potential of wiping out the bushi ban business in Taiwan and giving the local government a monopoly on the sale of ESL/EFL classes and materials.

I think this hits the nail right smack dab on the head. Parents want their kids to be able to master gov't exams that determine everything about the kids future. What better way than to have a total monopoly on the the production of Ministry of Education EFL learning material and exams. Parents will pay serious coin for that. There was a competition for smart students a while back and some parents paid large bribes and for prostitutes to get their kids into it or to win. I forget which, but you get my point.

Killian you are far too over qualified for this program. We are talking about an education system where parents who can afford it, choose to send their kids to TAS, The US, UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada for a real life and opportunity plus overseas Chinese get better opportunities with schools in Taiwan. This isn't a fluke. That said, with your Chinese skills and hard earned Chinese socializing skills you would be too protected by the staff to be easily enough terminated.

This program is a godsend. It may be the right thing at the right time. Yes, I may very well be insane but here is my point.

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In April, lawmakers questioned the program's funding source. The ministry at that time planned to use the government's second reserve fund -- supposedly for emergency use -- to back the program.

You may have over looked this last line in the article but it says so much. It says that many foreign teachers in this program will not be paid on time, if at all.
Please keep in mind that the teachers are going to be recruited from overseas. That means that any dispute would fall under the jurisdiction of the country where the teachers were recruited from.
Taiwan is not a country, it has no legal status as such and it's representative offices overseas have NO diplomatic protection from prosecution or litigation. That means that any government representative can be held accountable for the actions of the government in almost any country. Taiwanese businesses can simply dissolve and business people can simply leave the country. The Republic of China does not have that luxury and it's officials have no diplomatic status.
If this program is handled the way so many predict it will be, there will be such a backlash that it will have to be halted. The Education system and it's officials would be seen for what they really are. Then perhaps, real reform can take place.

Aristotle is correct about the corruption going on in the Ministry of Education in each county.
Recently I lodged a complaint against Tung Der High School with the Department of Education
in Taichung. The high school had hired me without a licence to do so.
As a result, my employer had secretly applied for my ARC under the name
of a dummy cram school . I was denied national health insurance, a tax refund, and government arbitration because my contract was illegal.
Needless to say, I was exposed to arrest and deportation all the while I was there
without even knowing. Anyway, the ministry officials not only refused to arbitrate over a salary dispute, in which I was clearly ripped off, but also ignored the fact
that the high school seriously broke the law. My next step is to notify the immigration officials
of the National Police in Taipei for what it's worth.
Taiwan appears to be a kangaroo state. This could explain why Canada doesn't have an embassy there, recognizing Beijing- not Taipei.

hey, it is their country. we can like it or go home. sooner or later most of us'll go home. just be sure to regale your local lawmakers of how you (we?) got bottom shuffled over here. if our own gov'ts treated taiwanese like taiwan treats us, things would change in a hurry.

btw: "kangaroo court" has nothing to do with australia. it originated in texas. probably a corruption of a greek legal term "kategoros" (sp?) court, which is a court run by the accuser- not an impartial third party or jury.

I quite agree with Killian. It is about time countries like the EU members, the USA, Canada and Australia started recipricating the awful treatment of our citizens on things like visa and immigration laws. That is we start treating them like they treat us. I would bet that things would change substantially for the better in 6 months (probably less) if we all did that.

Kilian, it amounts to the same thing when the third party is manipulated or
influenced somehow by either the plaintive or the defendant. In my case,
I believe the defendant , an influential private high school , played a vital part in effecting the Department of Education's indifference towards me.

Where does it go from there, Aristotle?
I'm interested in knowing, because I've noticed that recruiters
are placing foreign teachers in public schools: while the teachers
are employed and paid by the job agents.